Apple chip builder TSMC expected to see record Q3 on 'A10' chips

Chip manufacturer TSMC on Monday posted revenues of just under $6.89 billion for its second quarter, and is anticipated to do even better in the third quarter thanks to growing shipments of Apple “A10” processors for upcoming iPhones and iPads.

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Q2 revenues were up 9 percent sequentially, and 8 percent year-over-year, DigiTimes reported. Market forecasts quoted by the Commercial Times meanwhile suggest that because of the A10, TSMC’s Q3 revenues could hit record levels, between $7.14 billion and $7.45 billion.

Apple is thought to be relying on TSMC and its 16-nanometer FinFET process for most or all A10 chip orders, marginalizing Samsung, which was once the sole producer of A-series chips but has increasingly lost orders as Apple tries to reduce its dependence. The A9 processor in the iPhone 6s line is produced by both TSMC and Samsung, for instance.

TSMC’s recent quarter bucks a trend seen by other Apple suppliers, including Foxconn, which have reported weak orders even when compared with usual seasonal slumps.

If it is the sole producer of A10 chips, though, TSMC stands to generate large sums off of Apple orders in the run up to the launch of the “iPhone 7” and new iPad models, though there have been few rumors about the latter. New iPhones should ship sometime in September if Apple follows its normal release patterns.